That being said, I still find it a bit hard to believe that Adams, after over 30 years leading SF (and many would say the IRA) has suddenly decided to start naming names. It would not only be political suicide, but it presents a real risk to his life as well, as we learned from the Denis Donaldson affair.

There's a bit of nuance to all of this. Stack had names of people who might have known about the murder, rather than the names of the murderers. Adams apparently brought them to an unidentified (to them) IRA figure who admitted IRA responsibility, but again, no names were given.

It's entirely possible that what's lost in the noise here is the difference between names of people with knowledge of the IRA, names of people in the IRA, and names of IRA people involved in the murder itself.

Loads of solicitors have been struck off for irregularities in the client accounts. The Law Society are apparently incredibly strict now. Very few people actively stole money, but a lot of people like her were up to their necks in property when the arse fell out of the economy.

If you remember how Stack was dragged into this, Adams was accused of giving names of IRA men involved in a murder to the Gardaí. Adams did not deny giving the names, but he said they were names given to him by Stack.

So Adams initiated this, not Stack. Stack only comes into play when he's named as a source.

Asked to rank their preferences for Government spending of any additional revenues, voters expressed a preference for more public servants and capital spending, well ahead of tax cuts, welfare increases or higher pay for existing public servants.

The 38% 46% is obviously a different question. Also, renegotiating it doesn't automatically mean pay them more.

It matters a huge amount in Britain and Ireland because it's a way of assessing who the best players really are. In particular, for the weaker sides, it can be reassuring to know that a Stuart Hogg really is the best full-back across four nations and to know you can still produce those sorts of players. (Just like we felt the same way about our lads in 1997 and 2001.)

Also, there's just the fun of seeing new combinations and tactics. Jamie Roberts and O'Driscoll made for a cracking midfield at various times.

And of course the real appeal is that it's an old school rugby tour. For obvious reasons teams can't really spend two months wandering around South Africa, Australia or New Zealand anymore. Similarly, Leinster will never beat Australia again, because those games are usually second string sides playing each other midweek.

The Lions is a bit of a monster, but it's a reminder of some of the romance of the amateur era.